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Submitted into Contest #94 in response to: Start your story with someone accepting a dare.... view prompt

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Coming of Age Fiction Friendship

SpaceHuman's Note: *Haii all. Hows life? I'm doing well. This is kinda a last minute story, but not too too rushed. Sorry I didn't post last week although idk if anyone cares lolz. I didn't find any of the prompts to fit my mindset, and when I finally figured out a plot, I was too busy to write, and time went up. So yeah :P Anyway, I hope you glance at the story, buh bye =D*

"Go ask Brook out." Jamie looks slyly at me and waves her hundred dollar bill in the air. I can smell the money under my nose. It can be all mine. I just need to ask my crush out. No biggie at all. If I get rejected I guess I could play it cool and tell Brook I was dared.

I walk closer to Jamie and seize her arm gently. I then swipe the money from her unsuspecting fingers.

"You're on." And and I stroll back to the bartender for another round of shots. He slams a glass of Bloody Mary and wipes some sweat from his forehead.

"Hot 'eh?" He looks at me and nods. I continue, "It's only 60 degrees out there."

"Yeah but conditionings' broke." I raise my glass and nod. I then get up out of my wooden stool and walk over to Jamie and the others who are in a round of Dare Or Dare.

"Hey Jamie!" She looks over at me and raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

I smirk. "Go kiss 'em." At the same time, I gesture over to the bartender, who is tending to another customer.

"Child's play," she says, and hands me her glass of what looks to be a Vodka Soda. She glides over to the bartender and swoops him up swiftly. I turn my head and gag. Suddenly she's back in front of me, looking like nothing happened. I begin to wonder how many times she's done this. Jamie's personality can change in different environments, I've noticed.

I glance over at the surprised man. He is satisfied, puzzled, and covered with bright ruby lipstick.

"Ok Jamie I'm done for tonight. Thanks for the hundred. I'll ask 'er out tomorrow."

"K," she responds, continuing to sip her fancy glass. I'm about to head out the gate when I turn back.

"When I get rejected, you 'aint getting a refund!"

She rolls her eyes and turns away. Then I leave the bar for good, making my way through the stone sidewalk. Swerving to the left or right occasionally. At one point when I'm almost home, I nearly crash into a parking pole.

When I'm finished soaking my hair and face with hot water from the tap, I lie on my back, looking at the splattered ceiling. The dare floats along with my many other emotions. I think of Brook's smiling face when she gets praised by her teachers, or when she hits a home run on the school baseball teams. I've never missed a game. She is easily the best. After the game I buy us some ice cream, and we lick it in the sun, chatting. Afterwards we both go about our own lives.

I have to say I might be glad Jamie put me up to this. Many boys fawn over her, so getting to her now is a good planning strategy. I just hope I wasn't too drunk when I was told my dare, in case there was a twist. I have forgotten almost everything that happened there tonight.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

I don't hear birds chirp outside to greet me in the morning. No fantasy revolves around this. Especially when I live in a busy city. I grab my glasses on my dresser and see the money lying on the glass panel, just how I had left it yesterday.

My challenge ahead of me wades in my mind, and I decide in the next few moments, that I'm ready. I switch out of my furry night robe and slippers into my black and red uniform. The uniform isn't too strict. I wear a shirt with buttons and some pants. Shorts if it's hot. Girls have the default of a long skirt with these same colors, along with the option of apparel very similar to the male students. headbands are optional.

Brook wears a headband, and the long skirt with a sweater bearing the school's logo. She wears black shoes that are her personal choice, and they click and clack happily in the halls.

As a male student I wear a T-Shirt and pants, with sneakers (although if I wanted, I could wear a skirt). Quite simple.

Before I throw on my attire, I get in a cold shower for about 30 seconds to get my body and mind ready for the day. Eating breakfast, packing my bag etc. is next. Then I'm hopping on the school bus, ready for another set of learning opportunities.

Brook is sitting at the back of the bus. This is when I realize asking her out is much more complicated than I thought. I close my eyes tight and mutter "shit" loudly under my breath.

I scratch the back of my head and proceed to the back. The driver begins operating the vehicle and I am lurched slightly forward, almost dropping my lunchbox.

I restabilize myself and reach the back. It's a little hard to speak to her while the engine of the bus is screaming through the vent. I decide we could talk on the way, and perhaps I could ask her when we get off. I guess starting the conversation with "can you go to the movies this weekend" wouldn't be the wisest of choices.

So, I talk of other things. We talk about pros and cons of teachers, and we gossip about our classmates. We talk about the assignments coming up, and she asks me a few questions.

Suddenly the bus halts. The school looms in front of us. We walk off the bus and I pull her aside.

"Brook?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you umm want to go to the movies sometime?"

All I see in this precious moment is the brightest smile I have ever seen on her face.

May 20, 2021 02:43

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5 comments

KED KED
15:07 May 27, 2021

Well that's adorable... I've read a lot of stories this week that are either sad or horrific (which, of course, I love) and this was a nice breath of fresh adolescent air! Nicely done! :)

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17:43 May 31, 2021

aww thx

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Katrina Morales
02:18 Jun 05, 2021

How do you know so many alcoholic drinks...? How old are these people?!? This is not what you learned in my class... Fun read!

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14:39 Jun 05, 2021

Goog le

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Yves. β™™
04:35 Aug 08, 2022

How simple and wonderful! Congrats to the happy couple, right? Thanks for sharing this one with us all.

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